Make time for YOURSELF!

We all know the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”, and we understand that there is so much truth to that. Even in airplanes they tell you that in case of emergency, put your mask on before you assist anyone else with theirs. It is hard to dedicate yourself to something when there isn’t much of you to give. That is where self-care comes in.

“Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately to take care of our mental, physical, and emotional health.”

Self-care can be anything from reading a book in bed at 7pm, meditating, jogging, putting on a face mask, going through your whole skincare routine (daily), making yourself the brownies you love, buying yourself the brownies you love, etc. It can be anything that makes you feel good. No questions, no judgement, no guilt. Just pure, uninterrupted bliss.

I can almost hear your hesitation, say “but what about the kids, what about my husband, what about the house, what about the groceries…”. To that I say, What about you?

Imagine a life where you are happy, for no good reason but just because you are living. Imagine a life where you feel ready to wake up and take on the day, every day. Imagine a life where stress melts away and you feel strong and confident in all that you are. That life is available to you and through self-care, this life will become your reality.

Choose 1-2 self-care habits to incorporate into your life DAILY, and watch the changes unfold.

Self Care Habits:
– Do something that has been on your to-do list for a while, something that you have been putting off.

– Take another route to work. See the beauty of a different direction. Challenge your brain and your thoughts, jump out of the ordinary.

– Unplug for an hour, or a day, or a weekend. Unplug from emails, phone calls, text messages and social media. Create a space that allows your mind to take a step back and turn off from the outside world.

– Do one thing a day that makes you happy. I know it’s cliché but a lot of us don’t do this. One thing, that’s all. It could be as simple as going for a walk on your lunch break, or grabbing a coffee from your favourite coffee shop in the morning. One thing. A DAY. Try it.

– Spend time with your furry four-legged friend. Pat them, stroke them, talk to them. I can tell you from experience that this is one of the top natural stress relievers out there!

These are just small examples of ways you can practice self-care. You can try these or you can make up your own but I wanted to highlight the simplicity in each of these tasks.

Relaxation...its good for your overall health

It seems these days we are always on the go. We’ve got to go to work, the grocery store, get the kids, take them to practice, go to their games, get to the gym, cook dinner, prepare lunches, the list goes on and on. It almost seems selfish to think that we deserve to relax.

Well I am telling you, you deserve to relax and here is why: Stress can lead to a whole bunch of different health problems.

Our bodies were not designed to be as stressed as they are these days. Think about it, the only time our caveman ancestors were stressed out is when they were threatened by a predator. Their bodies would enter “fight or flight” mode, meaning their normal organ systems were shut off as adrenaline spiked to get them out of the stressful situation. Once they found safety, the stress response would turn off and all would go back to normal. This is not the case these days. Since we are always so stressed out, our bodies never fully come out of this “fight or flight” mode which compromises our digestive system, our detoxification functions, as well as our immunity. When our body is busy trying to get itself out of the “stressful” situation, it doesn’t have time to fight off the flu or even the common cold!

Stress can cause:

depression/anxiety

acne

wrinkles/fine lines

stroke

high blood pressure

obesity

diabetes

many others

Have I convinced you yet?

Good.

Here are 5 ways to start incorporating more relaxation into your life:

Have a hot bath at the end of the day with some epsom salts, a candle and maybe even a glass of wine!

Go for a massage. Release the tension that has built up in your muscles.

Sip a cup of herbal tea.

Meditate. Use an app such as Insight Timer if you need some guidance.

Aromatherapy. Put a few drops of some lavender essential oil into a diffuser and feel the stress melt away!

Taking some time for relaxation is not only the least selfish thing you could do for yourself, it is also going to help you be your best self.

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